Agenda item

(Led by: Mark Roberts, Lead Officer: Caroline Allen)

The Board considered a report of the Head of Legal & Governance Services regarding changes to governance arrangements

The Chair introduced the item and asked the Head of Legal & Governance Services to present the report to the Board. The Board was asked to:

·       Note an update in relation to the process to recruit a new private sector LEP Chair and Board Members.

·       Approve the proposal in relation to the revising of governance arrangements between meetings.

·       Approve the proposal in relation to the remuneration review for the new Chair between meetings.

·       Confirm a LEP Diversity Champion.

The Head of Legal & Governance Services explained that, at the June Annual Meeting authority had been delegated to the Chair to explore options and progress a recruitment process to fill three private sector representative vacancies, in consultation with the LEP Chief Executive. It had been hoped that the proposed timeline and recruitment procedure for the new Chair could have been shared with the Board at this meeting. However, the Board was still awaiting the approval of The Leeds City Regional Enterprise Partnership Integration Plan which had been submitted to the Government on 27 July 2022.

The Head of Legal & Governance Services advised that the process for the recruitment of the new Chair necessitated a change to the governance arrangements for the Board. To enable the recruitment process to continue without undue delay, the Board was asked to delegate authority to the LEP Chief Executive, in consultation with the Mayor, to make such revisions to the governance arrangements as appropriate, which may include:

·       The LEP Constitution

·       Procedure rules

·       The Recruitment and Appointment Procedure for Private Sector Representatives (which includes the Chair)

The Board had previously been advised at the June meeting that the remuneration in relation to the role of LEP Chair would be retained and would be assessed independently prior to recruitment commencing. The Head of Legal & Governance Services informed the Board that this process would take place in parallel with the revisions to the governance arrangements and would be carried out by the LEP Chief Executive in consultation with the Mayor between meetings.

The Board was advised that these processes may commence prior to the next LEP meeting in December, but that the Board would be kept up to date with progress.

The Board was also asked to endorse the process to appoint a LEP Diversity Champion to join the Board as a co-opted Member in accordance with the best practice set out in the Leeds City Region Assurance Framework. The LEP Procedure Rules require the LEP Board to appoint a member to act as the LEP’s Diversity Champion in order to encourage diversity and ensure that the LEP is acting in line with its diversity statement.

A number of Expressions of Interest had been received, however the process had not concluded at the time of publication of this agenda. The Chair proposed the appointment of Asma Iqbal at the meeting subject to the approval of the Board.

Board members welcomed Asma to this new role and expressed their thanks to all those involved in the recruitment process.

Resolved:

      i.         That the update in relation to the process to recruit a new private sector LEP Chair and Board Members be noted.

     ii.         That the proposal in relation to the revising of governance arrangements between meetings be approved.

    iii.         That the proposal in relation to the remuneration review of the new Chair between meetings be approved.

   iv.         That Asma Iqbal be appointed as the LEP Diversity Champion as a co-opted Member of the Board for the term of office of the Interim Chair.